He wanders randomly after this and buys:12.Peaches13.White peaches14.a Pecan pie15.Potato salad16.Jello cubes (how they wriggle !!!???)17.Good organic whole milk18.Peach juice19.Grape juice20.A large and crusty round loaf of fancy bread with olives in it21.Cultured butter (always best to be cultured and he can afford the best)22.Sliced Ham23.Sliced Garlic Roast Beef24.Sliced Chicken Breast25.A baked chicken in a basket26.A small round of smoked gouda cheese (he is confused by the cheese choices, but this looks familiar)27.Tinned spaghetti in tomato sauce - 3 (he remembers how Morgan liked nice fresh spaghetti and the label makes it look so good)28.Tinned peaches29.Tinned oranges30.Tinned pineapple31.Tinned corn32.Tinned okra33.A jar of mustard pickles34.A jar of beetroot pickles35.A box of dried apricots36.A box of whole pecans37.A Christmas cake with thick marzipan

Eventually he comes to the personal care products and is delighted. He looks for peppermint oil for his hair, but alas... He remembers the wonders of his first modern bath and fills the cart with pleasant-smelling items. He needs nothing for shaving, he thinks, picturing his beautiful shaving set, complete and perfect.

John eschews the pharmacy, wary and remembering the folly of tinctures of mercury. Hearing his cough an elderly woman offers him something called 'Buckley's Mixture' but it smells suspiciously of pine oil. He delights in the tooth care aisle, though he is again suspicious of the pastes. He is delighted by the array of tooth brushes however and purchases many varieties.

No need to worry about the edits. If my head were more clear I would compare and contrast the edits, but alas it is not. Thank you. The parentheses are a good idea. You see, I had this suggestion last night but have used 'small' again recently. *sighs*

Parentheses are always smiles now, so the more the merrier. Wheee for writing with a fever instead of writing as normal but as John having a fever. Wheeee! Thank you very much again. If you need any shampoo the house is now overflowing therewith... and he was so proud.

This is delightful. I can't stop smiling. I can just see him wandering from aisle to aisle and filling his cart with all of those wonderful things. (I especially loved 58-72) An absolute treat. Thanks so much for this. :)

it reminds me a little of an old story I heard once: "Coyote goes to the Grocery Store". (I also heard "Coyote Goes to the Welfare Office", because unlike you, Coyote is a ne'er-do-well who's too lazy to do a lick of work if he can help it)

Thank you so much for the banners. I did not really know what to say to the second. I wrote it ill in bed in a fever and simply thought I would let John go to the supermarket. It is partly a real supermarket in San Diego - my first experience with an American supermarket. It sold alcohol!!! I wanted to thank you again. That post was cheek, but so often I write and think it is for John and myself alone. And I know other others think the same of their work for when I tell them why they are brilliant, having encountered their writing, they say they believed themselves unread. What you are doing is wonderful. People write so well it is stunning. I am continually stunned, and they deserve recognition, even beyond our relatively small communities. That you provide this beam of sunlight for them, and so encouragement to continue writing and the knowledge that they shine, is a great service. Thank you so much for the idea and for all your work!